Ladder-truck



W. CHRISTIE.

LADDER TRUCK.

Patented Jn1y`29, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21. |911.

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W. CHRISTIE.

LADDER TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.21. |911.

Patented July 29, 191' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. CHRISTIE.

LADDER TRUCK.

APrLlcAlou flLEn uov.21. |911.

Patented J uly 29, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

l/V VE N TOR WALTER CHRISTIE, 0F WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY.

LADDER-TRUCK.

Bpeoloatlon of Letters Patent.

Patented July 29, 1919.

Application llled November 2l, 1917. Serial No. 203,907.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WALTER CHRISTIE, a. citizen of the United States of America., end a resident of Weehawken, county of Hudson, and Stute of New Jersey, have invented certain new und useful Improvements in Ladder-Trucks, of which the following is si. specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a port thereof.

My invention relates to new and useful im Jroven'icnts in ladder trucks, und its object is to provide A. motor-propelled truck for extension fire ladders, of improved construction.

Another object is to provide e simple rund efficient arrangement by means of which the ladder actuating mechanism may be actuated by hand or may be driven by the motor which is provided for propelling the vehicle.

A still further object is to improve upon the steering mechanisms for the truck and to provide a. simple device for manually steering the rear wheels which may be readily moved out of the peth of movement of the ladder when desired.

In order that my invention may be thoroughly understood I will now proceed to describe the suine in the following specificittion, and then point out the novel features thereof in appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a. side elevation of e. ladder truck made according to and embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is e plan view on n larger scale of the reer portion of my im roved ladder truck, showing the rear steering gear. The position into which this steering eer may e moved out of the wey of the adder is shown in broken lines in this fi ure.

Fig. 3 is e plen view partly in section, of the forward part of the op aratus showing somewhat in detail the lnd er raising mechanism.

Fig. 4 is e sectional end elevation of e art of the mechanism which is shown in ig. 3, the section being teken on the line 4 4 of the letter figure.

Fig. 5 is en end elevation, partly in section, of the rear steering geur, the section 'being taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation on a still larger scale, of a portion of the forward pert of the apparatus.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

10 designates the side frames of the appef ratus, 11 its front wheels, and 12 its reni wheels. The front wheels are )ivoted to the front axle, at 13 sind steere( by n front steering wheel 14 in front of the driver`s seat 15 by a, mechanism 1G which is not il purl of this invention.

1T is en internal combustion engine set transversely of the side frames sind arranged to he connected with or disconnected from the front wheels 11 by well known mechenisms which are not shown or described es theIy form no part of the resent invention.

he rear Wheels 12 are pivoted at 18 to the rear axle 19. From each of them extends an arm 20 and these are connected b a cross rod 21. Directly beck of the rear wheels are raised side posts 22 and 23 cross-connected by o. brace 24. These form rigid parts of the frame of the vehicle. The side post 22 supports e vertical shaft 25, the u per end of which forms a. ivotel support or a senil frame 26. 27 is t e rear seat which is fastened to this seat frame. The other end of this frame is arranged to rest upon the side post 23 I.ind to be connected therewith by nV pin V28.

30 is a rear steering wheel on a. vertical shaft 31 rotatably su ported in e. forward extension of the seat rame 26. A sprocket wheel 32 on this shaft is connected 'b n. sprocket chain 33 with -a sprocket whee 31 on shaft 25. On the lower end of shaft 25 is a. worin and gear device 35 by means of which a rotation of shaft 25 in one direction or the other will move e lever 36 to the left or right. A rod 37 connects lever 36 with the cross rod 21. These parts ere so errenged that when the steering wheel 30 1s turned in either direction, the rear wheels 12 will be turned in the similar direction, but by a reduced amount.

Before describin the other parts of the apparatus, I will s ow how this 'rear steering device is operated to get it out of the way of the ladder. When it is used, to steer .the vehicle by steering the rear wheels es )u st described, it has been assumed that the pin 28 is in place. lVhen the apparatus is at rest and it is desired to raise the ladder, the rear steersman without gettin oil of the seat 27, removes the pin 28. e now turns the wheel 30 in a right-hand direction and as it is easier for the seat frame to turn on its pivotal sup ort than it is for the steering gear and t e rear wheels to move,'the

pinion 34 will be held against rotation and consequently the seat frame will be swun out of the way of the ladder into the osltion in which it is indicated byl dotted ines at 26A in Fig. 2. Of course t e seat frame 26 and the parts which it supports may be brought back again by a reversal of this operation.

Near the forward part of the vehicle is a circular track 40 .upon which is sup orted by anti-friction bearings, a turn-tube 41. Pedestals 42 on this turn-table support a transverse shaft 43. 44 are frames to which is aiiixed the main ladder section 45. The other ladder sections are desi ated by 45A and 45B. These frames are plvoted on shaft 43 and comprise two internally toothed segments 46. Pinions 47 on a shaft 48 engage these segments. 49 is a bevel gear on shaft 48 arranged to be drivenI by a bevel pinion 50 on the upper end of a vertical shaft 51. The axis of this vertical shaft lies in the axis of turn-table 41. A worm r 52 is on the lower end of shaft 51. 53 1s a worm gear on a horizontal shaft 54 in mesh with worm gear 52. This shaft may be rotated by a hand-crank applied to a spindle 55 through gears 56 or ma be connected by means of a clutch 57 to e driven by the en 'ne through ars 58.

is obvious t at the ladder is raised or lowered by the rotation of shaft 54 in one direction or the other either through the power transmission mechanism which has just been described or the hand power mech- [Ullm- 60 is a hand lever near the drivers seat for controlling the clutch 57. It is connected to slide a plunger 61 against a spring 62 'which pushes the clutch out of its engaging position. 63 is an arm depending from the plunger and in engagement with the clutch.

On one of the segments 46 is a lug 65 which engages when the ladder has nearly reached a vertical osition, the upturned end 66 of a slide rod, t e other end of which engages a pivoted lever 67 onwhich is a roller 68 springressed into engagement with the arm 63. en the lug acts upon these parts, the arm 63 will be forced to the left, as viewed in Fig. 6 to disengage clutch 57 whereby the motor is automatically disconnected from the ladder raising mechanism.

The ladder sections are extended by the usual mechanism actuated y by a hand crank 69.

I will now describe briefly the mechanism by means of which the turn-table 41 is rotated. A circle of gear teeth 70 surrounds the track 40. 71 is a inion in mesh with these teeth` and aflixe to a short vertical shaft 72 supported in bearings on the turntable. This shaft through gears 73 is connected with a longer vertical shaft 74, the upper end of which is connected by gears within a gear casing 75 with a hand wheel 76. By turning the hand wheel the turntable and the ladder which is mounted on it may be rotated. As the axes of the turntable 41 and of the vertical transmission shaft 51 are coincident, this rotation of the turn-table does not ailect the motor ladder raising mechanism.

I intend no limitations other than those im osed by the appended claims.

at I claim is:

1. A ladder truck comprising front and rear wheels, a ladder, a pivotal support therefor near the front end of the truck, raising and lowering mechanism for swinging the ladder about its pivotal support, a steering gear for the rear wheels comprising a frame ada ted to extend transversely across the lad er, a ivotal support for said frame at one side o the ladder, and means for swinging said frame about its pivotal support.

2. A ladder truck comprising -front and rear wheels, a ladder, a pivotal support therefor near the front end'of the truck, raising and lowering mechanism for swinging the ladder about its pivotal supportfa steering gear for the rear Wheels comprising a frame ada ted to extend transversely across the lad er, a vertical shaft at one side of the Yloa ladder arranged to form a transmission element of the steering gear and to serve as a pivotal support for said frame, and means or swinging said frame about its pivotal support.

3. A ladder truck comprising front and rear wheels, a ladder, a ivotal support therefor near the front end o the truck,-rais 110 ing and lower' mechanism for swinging the ladder about its pivotal support, a steering gear for the rear wheels comprising a frame adapted to extend transverse] across the ladder, a vertical shaft at one si e of the ladder arrangedto form a transmission element of the steering gear and to serve as a pivotal support for said frame, a steering wheel supported on said frame, connections between said steering wheel and said shaft, and releasable means for holding said frame in its transverse position, said steering wheel and connections being o erative to swing the frame about its pivota support when the holding means is released.

4. A ladder truck comprising front and rear wheels, a ladder, a pivotal support therefor near the front end of the truck, raising and lowering mechanism for swinging the ladder about its pivotal support, a steering 130 gear for the rear wheels -eomprising a frame adapted to extend transversely across the the ladder, a vertical shaft at one side of the ladder arranged to form a transmission e1e- 5 ment of the steering gear and to serve as a pivotal support for said frame, a seat supported on said frame, a steering wheel on the frame in front of the seat, connections between said steering Wheel and said shaft,

and means for holding said frame in its 10 transverse position, releasable from said seat, said steering wheel and connections be- 

